The Gift of Truth

Psalm 12:1 “Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.”

[In spite of how it appears, I praise you, Lord, that you have always reserved for yourself some who are righteous in Christ. You are quietly at work to keep your children strong, to make them truth-bearers, shining the light in love to all around them, to be yeast, salt, and light in society. Help us to be carriers of hope, truth and light to all around us; convict us quickly when we are not.

Psalm 12:2 “Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.”

[This is true of so much of what goes on today: lies about what is right and wrong; lies in political correctness; lies of those who claim to be tolerant but are not; lies we tell ourselves.

But You, Lord God, are the only One we can truly, totally trust to speak Truth. Help us to be truth lovers (loving your Word), truth speakers (especially to ourselves) and truth discerners (in society). We so easily fall into our natural way of complaining. We say to ourselves, “That was terrible, disgusting,” when the truth is, it was disappointing and difficult.” To lie to ourselves about  situations and happenings pulls us down into unhappiness. True thinking lifts  us up, “That was a challenge and taught me a lot!”

Psalm 12:3 “May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, ‘We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips—who is our master?’”

[Yes, Lord, show yourself mighty, expose the liars, bring them to justice; show yourself the true Master. May the deceived be brought into the light and grasp truth. May we not be fooled by anything that is put forth by liars, including lies we tell ourselves.

Shine truth in our lives, Lord, so that we may shine it on others. Convict us quickly of untruth we so readily tell ourselves. Help us to be your truth lights in the world today.]